Every day, millions of New Englanders turn on the tap without a second thought. They expect wastewater to disappear and travel safely through the water systems to be treated. They expect rivers, lakes and beaches to remain healthy. And when disaster strikes, they expect someone to be there to protect our water.
Those expectations are met because thousands of highly trained water professionals quietly go to work every day. But roughly one-third of America’s water workers are eligible for retirement within the next decade, and simply put, the people who protect our most essential resource are leaving the workforce faster than we are replacing them.
New England is particularly vulnerable, where average water operator is 50 years old — seven years older than the national average. This brewing problem poses risk to our environment, public health and our infrastructure, especially in our region.
Without a sufficient pipeline of candidates entering the industry and an adequate number of trained professionals, treatment plants would become more vulnerable. Emergency response would become more difficult. Aging infrastructure would become harder to maintain. Emerging contaminants like PFAS would become more challenging to manage. And the systems that have protected public health for generations would be left with fewer experienced people behind the controls. The greatest threat to our water infrastructure may not be what is buried underground, it may be the shrinking workforce above it.
Ask a room full of high school students what a wastewater operator does, and many will still picture dirty, unpleasant work. Yet because our industry has remained largely invisible, generations of students have never been told these careers are more in line with environmental science, public health and technology than a public utility.
Today’s water professionals work with chemistry, biology, automation, robotics, data analytics and sophisticated treatment technologies. They solve environmental challenges, protect ecosystems and safeguard public health every day. These careers can offer competitive salaries and meaningful opportunities for advancement without requiring the student debt associated with a four-year degree.
Across New England, we are beginning to see what happens when people are introduced to the possibilities. Private companies are partnering with high schools to introduce students to water careers. Technical schools are developing curriculum to develop pathways to certification. Workforce organizations are creating opportunities for underemployed adults. States are also exploring ways to help veterans transition into fresh careers in the water industry. These efforts reinforce an important lesson: people are not rejecting careers in water; they simply haven’t been invited to consider them.
But individual programs will not solve a regional workforce shortage. We need to do a better job telling the story of a profession that quietly protects every community in America. Workforce development must become part of our infrastructure strategy. Every year we delay, more institutional knowledge walks out the door due to retirements, and the problem becomes more challenging, and expensive, to solve. America cannot maintain the water systems of tomorrow without investing in the people who will run them.
Mary Barry is the executive director of the New England Water Environment Association.